Lost in the Mojave
by Mr.946
Summary: Join our hero Strayer as he sets out on a journey far greater than one could imagine.


Lost in the Mojave

By Nicholas A. Painter

Forward

This story is set in the Fallout universe; I take no credit for creating this world or the canon characters in it. However, Strayer is a character of my imagination and self-creation set in an already fabricated world. This story takes place in the year 2277 two-hundred years after The Great Nuclear War ravished the earth.

CH.1

Strayer awoke from his sleep bolting upright on his bedroll, the fire he had started still burned he was on his feet and brushing his long, black, and grimy hair out of his face. His dark eyes darted around the camp; his tan skin glowed in the soft light cast about by the fire. He looked like some kind of wild animal that was far away from home. His duster coat that he had been using to shield himself from the cold night of the Mojave now lay in the dirt next to him, he drew his knife from its sheathe and stood poised for any attack that would come his way. Finally, a wild dog crept close from the shadows, Strayer mad a move to put his knife away and the dog scattered.

Strayer checked his PIP-BOY 3000 for the time. It was two-thirty a.m. Strayer knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so he packed up and made a torch using a tree limb and small amount of ethanol soaked cloth and began to walk. It wasn't long before the sun raised, a warm kiss across his skin, he soon came across an NCR ranger station "Charlie" it was called, the place was a dozen or so trailer-homes stacked into walls around a small house. Strayer wore a red beret he had inherited from his father in D.C. a ranger shouted in his direction.

"Hey you! Stop!"

Strayer froze where he stood.

"Where'd you get that beret soldier?" the ranger asked Strayer smirked and laughed to himself quietly.

"I got this beret from my father back in D.C. sir. And I aint no soldier." The ranger smirked and extended his hand.

"Morales and what's your name?"

"Strayer." He said shaking the Morales's hand.

"Well Strayer, what brings you out this far?"

"Not much right now im just looking for water, I have plenty of caps." Strayer produced a small bag from his pocket and jingled it

"I have something better…" Morales said, and out of his duffle bag he retrieved a small flask-shaped canteen "…it's a condensation collector from a vault way back west." the canteen was silver with a blue leather casing around it and a big yellow "13" sewn onto the side.

"How many caps?" Strayer asked, Morales thought about it

"Say, two-hundred?" Strayer handed him the bag

"Thanks." Strayer said as he walked away.

Strayer carried a modified hunting rifle on his back it used a micro-fusion cell and a three-oh-eight Winchester round and a was equipped with a ten by forty by one-hundred millimeter scope, the rifle had a customized bolt and a fifteen round magazine. The rifle was capable of two plus miles, it also appears ragged and make-shift but upon closer inspection looks nearly perfect in all major functioning parts, and has the capability to drop a death claw with only one shot even at extensive ranges. Strayer went prone on a hill and scanned the land bellow for any hostilities.

Jonny-Hammer-sticks was a Fiend who particularly liked the chem Buffout and was known for smashing his victims to a gooey red pulp with him signature sledgehammer that has been permanently stained red. A particularly nasty habit he has developed is letting his starving dogs lose on and random Wastelender who happens across his path. Now he was scanning the horizon with his binoculars, and then he signaled to his right-hand-man Crazy-little-kid who stood in the background going crazy with the anticipation of blood. (Now it's important to know that a Fiend who is so hopped up on Psycho he can barley operate a gate properly more than likely should not be handling vicious dogs especially if his hand has been cut open by the gate.) Crazy-little-kid opened the gate and the dogs pounced on him and one tore his throat out and the others took off after the Wastelander Jonny had spotted.

Charrolete was out of water and out of ammo; all she had was a tire-iron she had looted off a Viper back near camp Searchlight. She heard heared a noise off in the distance behind her and turned to find a pair of dogs was chasing her, she ran. Carrolete sprinted along the rough terrain through bramble and over boulders, and as dogs do they gave chase, with only yard between them she tripped after he foot had been caught under an exposed tree root, the lead dog pounced. To Charrolete this was all happening in slow motion she knew her life was over, and then the dogs head exploded, then the second dog's chest erupted from its right side and it collapsed.

Jonny was pissed his dogs where dead and so was Crazy-little kid and Jonny was on a Buffout binge. He ran forward sledgehammer out screaming then the sledgehammer's head blew of then Jonny's head blew off, Jonny collapsed and Charrolete lay on the ground teary eyed with her knee dislocated and her had been cut open by a rock she had fallen on. Her le out a deep sigh as her vision faded to black.

As Charrolete slowly came back to reality her vision was slipping in and out of focus and she realized she was bouncing up and down on someone's shoulder she slowly began to reach for her tire-iron

"It's in my pack, don't worry if I was going to do something to you I would have already."

"Can you set me down? My ribs are killing me." She croaked out.

Strayer stopped walking and slowly set her down against the skeleton of an ancient car. "Do you mind?" he asked gesturing towards her ribs

"Not at all." Charrolete groaned. He felt her side with the hands of an expert surgeon, steady but indeed gentle enough not to cause any discomfort.

"Three of your ribs are broken on this side, you want some med-x?" he asked the aching woman.

"Sure." She groaned.

He pushed the needle delicately through her skin and slowly pushed down the plunger.

"It'll kick in after a minute or two; I don't want you to move 'till then." Strayer said as he patted her on the shoulder and took a seat next to her in the dirt and began rummaging through his pack and he pulled out a small black revolver and popped open the cylinder and spun it once and popped it back in.

" Here." He said handing her the revolver.

"It's three-fifty-seven single action revolver." She took it and examined it closely as if it where a piece of alien technology.

"I've never seen a revolver like this before. Where did you get it?" after Strayer didn't answer for a couple of seconds he sighed.

"You really want to know huh?" she nodded in response.

"Well you see..." Strayer began playing it up just a little ".that shiny black pistol is from the Sierra Madre, the land of blood red fog, and the home of the Ghost People." She starred at him she was obviously confused.

"Wait, you mean to tell me you've been the Sierra Madre? The city of gold? The casino that never opened?"

Strayer chuckled "Yeah that's the one accept there is no gold and its full of zombie soldiers who will tear you limb from limb the first chance they get and you gotta cut 'em up just to keep them from moving and even with there arms and legs gone they keep breathing." Strayer got chills just thinking about the Ghost People now, but Charrolete was as excited as ever.

"Wow! Really? Can you take me?" she asked not giving time for Strayer to answer, "I mean we are partners and all..." Strayer cut her off.

"No. We are not partners, I'm just taking you up to Nelson to get to a doctor." She looked up.

"What? You're Legion aren't you!" it wasn't a question she was accusing him.

"Wait." He said taking it all in

"The Legion is at Nelson?"

She stared back "Uh, Yeah. You didn't know?"

Strayer didn't answer.

Nelson is a small town that lies just north of an NCR camp that has recently been taken over by Caesar's Legion, the town would trade hands several times over the course of four years. This town is where Strayer had been headed to look for work from his uncle however, there has been a change in plans. Charrolete looked at him.

"Did you have family there?" she asked consolingly he looked back at her with his dark eyes

"Yeah." He sighed.

Strayer and Charrolete sat there in the dust of the decrepit highway leaning against that sun baked skeleton of a car for what seemed to be days maybe even weeks Strayer didn't know he didn't really care either, all he knew was that he had lost more family.

"Hey?" Charrolete broke the silence.

"Yeah?" Strayer took a while to respond.

"Maybe he got away." She attempted to console him. Strayer sat there a moment

"Let me tell you a little story." He finally said.

CH.2

"I was a small child when I was taught the cruelty this world can impose on our live, my mother died of a lung disease before I can even remember, and my father died of cancer from be8ing exposed to nuclear radiation trying to earn the money he needed to keep me and my brother alive. The first thing I remember my father telling me was the journey him and my mother went on to make it to D.C.," Charrolete interrupted him.

"Wait your from D.C.?"

Strayer sighed "Yes, that's what I said now can I continue?"

Charrolete sheepishly stared at the ground while Strayer continued.

"The road from D.C. is perilous one, dodging Reavers, Legion, and remnants of the Master's army. When my parents finally did make it to D.C. they found a place in worse condition than the growing New California Republic." It was at this point Strayer took a deep breath and continued. "The super mutants here are extinct compared to the masses of them in the capital wasteland ones and the ones here look a bit nicer to."

Charrolete interrupted him yet another time "Wait, you've seen a super mutant?" Strayer paused "Uh, yeah you haven't?"

She looked almost embarrassed "No."

"I'll take you to Black Mountain sometime then." He comforted her.

"Hey if we are going to be partners I should at least know your name." she said.

Strayer looked at her eyes, they where a bright green that clashed brilliantly with her red hair

"Strayer." He said extending his hand.

She took it "Charrolete."

"Nice to meet you Charrolete; and we aren't partners."

She smirked at him "Believe me, I know your type. We ARE partners." She put extra emphasis on the word "are".

Strayer let out a heavy sigh "Fine, just don't touch my rifle." Charrolete laughed aloud

"Don't worry about it soldier." She gave a little salute

"I'm not a soldier thank you." Strayer said slightly annoyed

"Oh yeah? Then where'd you get that beret?"

Strayer narrowed his eyes at her as she asked the question "From my father back east." She got quiet "Oh, I'm sorry."

Strayer chuckled "its fine." He patted her on the shoulder.

Charrolete smiled at him "So, where else have you been?"

Strayer thought to himself for a moment, he wondered whether to tell her about Hopeville, or maybe he would tell her about Big Mountain research center yet "You ever hear of Zion?"

Charrolete's eyes widened "Yeah."

Strayer wondered how she could be so excited about somewhere anyone could go for a price, "I was there once, it's this great big national park up in Utah, and it's absolutely beautiful. And I got this up north of there."

Strayed pulled a shiny-chromed pistol out form a holster strapped to his thigh

"It's a forty five automatic pistol." He removed the magazine and handed the gun to Charrolete. She pulled the slide back and marveled at the smoothness of the action

"It's so perfect." She said

Strayer smiled and grabbed the forty-five auto from Charrolete.

Strayer pushed his grimy hair back and sighed then looked at Charrolete, she looked back at him and she smiled at him and just then a red mist exploded from her shoulder and she collapsed to the ground screaming in pain and she slowly faded into unconsciousness. Strayer snatched up his rifle and worked the bolt-action on it and propped it up along the roof of the car and searched down range using his scope, saw a muzzle flash and a round slammed into the chassis of the car, Strayer took the shot.

Leeroy lay prone on a ridge scanning the horizon roughly five-hundred yards away when he noticed a pair of people walking along the highway and the sat down against a car and talked for a while. Leeroy had decided it was the perfect opportunity to retrieve some supplies from a couple of unsuspecting wastelanders, he chambered a round in his FN-FAL and took aim at the girl first. After his cross hairs rested about center-of mass on her, he fired. The hefty seven-six-two millimeter round tumbled through the rusted car frame and through the girl's shoulder. The man she was with immediately sprang to action grabbing his rifle and searching in Leeroy's direction then Leeroy took a shot at the man and his round slammed into the car frame and the man fired back, the bullet ripped through Leeroy's right forearm and right bicep making him lose all firing capability so he rolled in his back and gave up.

Strayer had disabled the sniper and run over t check on Charrolete. She was unconscious and bleeding, he pulled a doctors bag out of his pack and sterilized the wound with alcohol and put a bandage on it. Strayer slung his rifle over his back and drew his forty-five auto and walked in the direction of the sniper, leaving Charrolete alone.

Leeroy had rolled onto his back and had adjusted his body to where his feet pointed towards the wastelanders he'd tried to kill and stared at the sky waiting to die, then he heard something he looked to see the man who had shot him only yards away with a pistol in his hand Leeroy drew his three-fifty-seven magnum revolver but before he could aim Strayer shot the hand Leeroy was holding it in making the revolver drop to the ground and go off, Strayer didn't even flinch. Next thing Leeroy knew Strayer was standing over him and grabbing him by the collar and screaming in his face.

"So, asshole your gonna tell me who the hell you work for or im gonna blow you pathetic excuse for a brain all over these rocks."

Strayer put the gun to Leeroy's temple.

"I don't work for nobody'" Leeroy managed to choke out

"I, I just saw you two and…"

Strayers cut him off "And take cheap shots at a wounded woman?" Strayer was yelling now.

After Leeroy did not reply, Strayer threw him in the ground, shot him in both his knees, picked up Leeroy's pack, and walked away leaving him in the harsh sun to die.

Charrolete had regained consciousness by the time Strayer had gotten back to the car.

"Here." He said handing her Leeroy's pack

"You can keep it and whatever is in there."

She looked up "Thanks." She slurred.

Strayed pulled a small bottle out of his pack and handed it to her

"Drink this, it's a mix of med-x and gecko's blood, the blood will help your bones heal within hours by the time we are ready to leave this spot you'll be able to walk." Charrolete mad a disgusted face but downed the whole bottle nonetheless. After a couple of minutes, Charrolete was able to use both her arms to tie her hair back and stand on her own.

"We should get moving." Strayer said

"Yeah. Where we going to go?"

Strayer thought for a second

"I have an old friend at the 188, if she' still there."

Charrolete looked at him

"What's her name?"

"I can't tell you that."

Charrolete raised an eyebrow

"You have weird friends."

Strayed glared at her. "Not really."

Charrolete laughed at him "Yes you do."

Strayer stopped walking

"If by weird you mean sworn to secrecy and ex-military, then yes I d have weird friends." Charrolete stopped and looked at him

"Who are you?" she asked.

Strayer looked dead at her

"I'm Achilles Strayer."

CH.3

The long sun-parched highway cut through the Mojave like a black tear on the face of a child, the sun-bleached cars as freckles in the child's face. The dry Mojave wind blew Strayer's hair about his head like one-hundred dancing serpents, his battered and worn duster flapped around his legs as he walked down the road, Charrolete on his heels like a small puppy. He checked the canteen; the air here was dry and as a result, only an inch or so of water had been collected. Strayer adjusted the black glove he always kept on his right hand.

"Why do you have that glove on? It's burning out here." Charrolete asked

"I'll show you some other time."

Charrolete kept quiet while they walked; Strayer noticed she was always looking around; she seemed sort of twitchy Strayer though to he. The sun climbed higher in the sky and they kept walking and eventually Charrolete started whining about being thirsty and hungry, finally Strayer had enough, turned around, and stopped her.

"You can choose to eat or drink all I have is and MRE but it takes water to make."

Charrolete stopped and thought for a second.

"I'll have the E-Mary."

Strayer laughed

"No, it's MRE it stands for meal ready to eat."

She looked confused

"Here, just read the package." He said tossing her the plastic brown package with the letters M-R-E stamped on the front and the instructions for preparation. Charrolete stopped walking and looked at her feet.

"What?" Strayer asked her

She looked up

"I can't read."

She sounded like she was about to cry, "I'll teach you sometime." Strayer reassured her.

Strayer checked his PIP-BOY it was one-forty-one p.m. and blazing hot outside the 188 was less than one half-mile away.

Charrolete spoke up "Is there any food vendors here?"

Strayer corrected her "It's 'Are there any food vendors here?' not is."

"Oh okay." She said "Thank you." Smiling at him.

At the 188 Strayer searched for the arms merchant he had served in the NCR military with a few years back.

"Hey there stranger." Strayer said walking around the old army truck with the olive drab painted nearly all chipped off.

The arms merchant looked up "Hey there Strayer what are you here for you son of a bitch?" she asked.

"I'll take some ammo and a rifle for the girl."

The arms merchant gave a sly grin "Oh really? A girl?"

"Now you know you California girls 'aint for me."

Charrolete tapped him on the shoulder and put her hands on her hips as he turned around "And what's that supposed to mean?'

Strayer raised his hands in a submissive gesture "Hey , hey I can't help it."

"And why not?" Charrolete asked raising and eyebrow

Strayer sighed " I just don't find you all that attractive."

The two girls exchanged glances and punched Strayer in the shoulders.

CH.4

Strayer walked away from his Ranger buddy's truck and over the bridge spanning Highway ninety-three where he found a small table which he sat in and began taking out the components he'd scavenged of Leeroy's now decrepit FN-FAL which included a suppressor and a high powered scope. Strayer then cut down ant threaded the barrel of the thirty-ought-eight rifle and mounted the scope he then took a can of varnish he had been saving and sanded down the ancient wood and re-varnished it making it look brand new. By the time Strayer was finished it was nearly six-o'clock and Charrolete was at the small bar and diner owned by a man named Samuel and his daughter Michelle. Charrolete was talking with the young girl and laughing about something and Strayer noticed her teeth where very clean for a Wastelander.

_Hell maybe im not the only one in this armpit of a world that owns a tooth brush._

"Here you go." Strayer said holding out the rifle to Charrolete.

She turned around and gasped "It's beautiful!" she said genuinely surprised to see the old rifle looking as new as it did.

"Can I shoot it?" she asked excitedly.

"Well you need to learn how to sight the scope first; I have a target set up abut two-hundred yards downrange for you," Strayed pointed off into the distance where the target was.

Strayer had found a piece of plate steel and scratched a head and shoulders target onto the rusted face. Back at the outpost Strayer had shown Charrolete how to properly prone out on the ground and was now teaching her how to get ready to take a shot.

"So you should take three deep breaths in without exhaling and then let one big breath out and…"

"Can I just shoot?" Charrolete asked irritably.

Strayed heaved a heavy sigh "Sure."

Strayer decided the scope now wouldn't be sighted until far into tomorrow morning.

CH.5

Strayer and Charrolete set out the next morning around eleven-o'clock after sighting the scope on Charrolete's new thirty-ought-eight. Strayer had decided they would head east towards a super mutant settlement called Black Mountain which lied a few miles to the south. Strayer had an old friend there named Marcus, who had seen a lot more (or at least that he remembered) then the second generation super mutants which made up most of the population nowadays. Then there where the Nightkin, Strayer didn't much care for them, he didn't like how fidgety they were which made him watch them which made them even more fidgety, he remembered an incident where he had ended up pointing a twelve-gauge shotgun at a Nightkin named Keen's head.

As Charrolete and Strayer walked along the highway Strayer took a cigarette from his pocket and offered Charrolete one which she turned down. Strayer lit it with the lighter he always carried in his pocket and took a log drag. After a while of walking north along the road they turned east and headed towards an office building in the distance. As they neared the building Strayer noticed that there were several Mr. Handy robots patrolling the area. The three armed floating orbs with British accents always annoyed Strayer to no end.

"Hey; Let's go inside and see if there's any good stuff to scavenge."

"I don't know." Charrolete said sounding scared.

"Oh it's fine; see?" Strayer said drawing his pistol and firing on one of the patrolling robots. The forty-five auto slug penetrated its body armor and it clattered to the ground noisily.

"Hey don't do that !" Charrolete said smacking the arm holding the gun towards the ground.

"Why not?"

"'Cause they have been here since the war, they probably remember their old masters." She said tears now welling in her eyes.

"Oh okay fine." Strayer sighed and they continued on their way.

CH.6

Strayer and Charrolete turned south along the highway and noticed a train station when they finally reached it they began rummaging through the piles of old newspaper and luggage along the deck. After about twenty minutes Charrolete walked over to the side of the platform Strayer was standing on,

"Here I'm not sure if this is garbage or something important so I thought I'd show it to you." She said handing him a small metallic square.

"Oh. This is a Holo-tape." Strayer said turning the square over in his hands.

"It stores music and text files on it I can try and read it with my PIP-BOY later if you want."

"Okay." Charrolete said smiling.

Strayer and Charrolete walked away from the train station and followed the tracks south when Strayer noticed a large carcass near the tracks, it was a brahmin (the two-headed cows that inhabit the Fallout universe.). Strayer stopped Charrolete

"Shit." He swore

"What? What's wrong Strayer?"

"Get back to the train station and go inside." He was whispering now

"What why?"

"Just do it! And run!"

Charrolete started running towards the train station she was about half way when she heard gun shots accompanied by Strayer's shouting

"Don't turn around Charrolete, just keep running!"

She made it into the train station and slammed the door shut behind her.

Strayer was walking when he looked up and saw an eviscerated brahmin laying by the tracks he then instructed Charrolete to go back to the train station and go inside and wait for him. When she was about halfway there he heard a low rumbly growl from behind and ancient cargo container followed by heavy footfalls and then he saw it. A deathclaw came around the side of the cargo container its grey reptilian skin and claws flecked with blood, the beast noticed Strayer immediately and let out a blood curdling roar. Strayer drew his forty-five auto and fired on the death claw, the bullets didn't even make the beast flinch. His pistol was empty so he dropped it to the ground next to him and pulled a sawed-off shotgun from a easy to access pouch on the side of his pack and fired into the beast's gaping maw and blew through the lower jaw causing the deathclaw to stagger and swing it's arms wildly then supported itself with its right-arm Strayer dashed forward and landed on the massive claw and put the muzzle of the shotgun to the beast's arm and fired, blowing most of the arm away in a spray of bone and flesh.

The beast was leaning on his stubbed arm Strayer drew his knife; the deathclaw raised its arm to strike when Strayer cut upwards along the left bicep causing the arm to give out. Strayer finished the beast off by plunging his knife into its neck.

Charrolete stood alone in the dark panting and sweating. She held the revolver Strayer had given her. She held her breath as she realized she had heard something in the room adjacent to the one she was currently in. Then she saw it, a ghoul its rotted face sniffing the air. Charrolete still held her breath then the ghoul stopped and slowly turned its head to look straight at her and let out a bone rattling hiss and ran at Charrolete; she screamed and fired her revolver. The round impacted perfectly center of mass and caused the ghoul to collapse, farther off in the darkness she heard more hissing. Charrolete began to cry.

A ghoul turned the corner into the room where Charrolete was sitting in the corner; another shot rang out bathing the dark room in an amber glow for a split second all was as bright as day then plunged back into darkness a ghoul collapsed in the doorway headless and two more took its place charging at Charrolete. Two more shots brought day back to the room. Charrolete had two shots left, she needed to decide if one of them was for her or another ghoul. Just then a ghoul turned the corner into the room charging at her its moist feet peeling off of the floor making a sickening sound then Charrolete fired her revolver again. And after the room was yet again returned to darkness she heard something that terrified her, the sound of the ghoul drawing ever nearer, she pulled the hammer on her revolver back one last time and pulled the trigger. The blood in her veins went to ice when the only response she got from the handgun was a metallic click.

Strayer was walking up the deck to the train station and cleaning his knife; he opened the door to the inside and he heard the hiss of a ghoul, he threw his knife at the ghoul and it sunk into the ex-human's skull and it collapsed. Strayer rant to Charrolete's aid, she had a deep gash on her right shoulder and was unconscious. Strayer gave her a stimpak and lifted her on his shoulder and set her outside of the door and went and gathered pieces of wood and scrap nails and nailed the door shut.

CH.7

Charrolete awoke in front of a large campfire on Strayer's bedroll, her arm hurt but she was warm and there was a steaming brahmin steak in front on a tin plate in front of her and it smelt amazing. She sat up slowly and ached but she was hungry enough to sit up all the way so she grabbed the plate and ate.

"I hope you like it." Strayer's voice came from behind her; she turned to look at him and swallowed.

"It's amazing!"

Strayer sat on the bedroll next to her and handed her a bottle of purified water which she opened and took a long drink from.

"Thanks."

"It's really no problem, you needed it more to recover from the fight."

Charrolete's face went cold "I almost died again didn't I?"

Strayer chuckled to himself "Wouldn't be the first time." He said as he took a swig from his beer.

"I really thought I was gonna…" she started but Strayer held his hand up and cut her off. There was a rustling coming from the bushes at the edge of the campfire's light. A small dog crept into view of the pair. Charrolete cut a piece of steak off and tossed it on the ground towards the dog which snatched it off the ground hungrily and took off into the dark.

"That dog has been following me for quite some time, even before I met you." Strayer said before taking another swig of his beer.

"Couldn't you even try to tame it?" Charrolete asked him.

"No, he's already tamed."

"Why don't you keep him then?"

"Just another mouth to feed, I'd just as soon eat him." Strayer said coldly draining his beer and threw the empty bottle; it went beyond the view of the firelight and its disappearance was followed shortly by the sound of breaking glass.

In the morning Strayer and Charrolete moved south; Black Mountain was visible in the distance, its ancient satellites still pointed skyward.

"Keep close to me and don't stare at the blue ones."

"Blue ones?" Charrolete queried

"The Nightkin their skin is a light blue color don't look at them to much or they get mad at you." Strayer explained as he was reloading his forty-five auto pistol from the previous day. As the duo walked along the highway the sun beat down on the baked dust and cracked highway rusted out cars littered the road. Yet life flourishes in the wastes; plants, animals, and humans all manage to survive. Life might be hard in the Wasteland but it is still life.

Strayer walked with Charrolete up the long winding road up to Black Mountain. Strayer knew the Nightkin must be watching them cloaked by their Stealth-Boys (an electronic device that allows the wearer to become invisible) that caused schizophrenia after extensive use and also caused the unfortunate side effect of being unaccustomed to being seen. As they neared the top of the mountains Strayer gave Charrolete some Rad-X (a drug used to increase tolerance to radiation) which she took without question. Then Strayer heard a roar of tremendous fury and drew his pistol while simultaneously pushing Charrolete behind him and a blue-skinned Nightkin materialized in front of him.

"Most humans I forget, but this human I remember. Keen remembers this human." The mutant said with its snarling voice.

"I remember you to you big smurf." Strayer held his pistol to Keen's head.

"You didn't see me but you know where I rest. How? I demand to know!" Said Keen raising his voice.

"Magic." Strayer mocked.

"Keen, that's enough." A strong guttural voice said from somewhere behind the eight-foot tall super mutant standing in front of Strayer. Keen backed off and Strayer holstered his pistol.

Strayer turned to see an old super mutant wearing piecemeal armor mad from robots and other random metal found around the wasteland.

"Marcus!" Strayer shouted opening his arms.

Marcus extended one monstrous hand outwards toward Strayer "It's good to see you old friend, I just wish you wouldn't almost start a war every time you showed up." Strayer took the mutant's hand in both of his and shook it.

CH.8

It was dark out and Charrolete had gone to bed while Strayer and Marcus sat around a gigantic bonfire and shared news.

"One group if perfectly fine with following the rules I've laid out for this community. While the other wants to return to the ways of the Master." Marcus was explaining the building tensions between two different groups of mutants at the Black Mountain sanctuary while sitting on a stool made of fifty-gallon drums.

"Sounds like you could have a rebellion your hands if you're hands pretty soon." Strayer looked up to see a Nightkin wearing a blonde wig and heart-shaped glasses talking to a Mr. Handy robot. Strayer pointed at them with a confused look on his face.

"That's Tabitha, she is the leader of the pro-Master group here." Strayer stretched and un-capped a Nuka-Cola he had in his pack.

"Better keep this whole ordeal isolated or you could attract the attention on the NCR of even worse, the Brotherhood."

"If worse comes to worse there's this place up north, it's an old ski lodge. There's work to be done but in time it could become quite suitable for our needs." Marcus signaled for one of his men and whispered something to him.

"What was that about?"

"I'm having my men keep an eye on Tabitha, you know what they say, keep your friends close.."

"…and your enemies closer." Strayer finished.

"So who's on her side?" Strayer asked

Marcus thought for a moment "Most of the second-gens (second generation super mutants which tend to be less intelligent than their first generation counterparts) and about a half-dozen Nightkin who are tired of Keen but won't challenge him for leadership." The fire crackled noisily as the old painted wood gave of a black smoke

"Hey, in the future you should be careful of that the Brotherhood is hold up out that way and you don't want that unwanted attention." Strayer pointed to the south-east showing where the Brotherhood's main base was.

"The Brotherhood of Steel never ceases to be an enigma ever present but always absent it seems."

"Agreed, you don't need worry about them now though the NCR whooped them pretty badly at Helios poor guys so blind with loyalty to their elder, they nearly got entirely whipped out." Strayer stood and stretched.

"Well I think I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight old friend."

"Goodnight Strayer." Marcus waved as Strayer walked to where Charrolete slept on his bedroll, he covered her with his duster and laid down on the ground and fell asleep.


End file.
